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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 2:40 p.m., Monday, May 12, 2008

Bank of Hawaii warns of 'phishing' scam

Advertiser Staff

Bank of Hawaii is warning of a "phishing" scam bearing Bank of Hawaii's name, and is reminding people who receive the fraudulent e-mail that they should not respond.

The e-mail asks individuals to fill out an online survey in order to receive an $80 reward credited to their account.

Phishing is a federal crime where the perpetrators may send out thousands of fake, but authentic-looking, e-mails in an attempt to trick unsuspecting recipients into revealing their account numbers, passwords and Social Security numbers.

Bank of Hawaii said it does not send e-mail to its customers to ask them to submit personal information. Any such request should be viewed as highly suspicious and recipients should not respond or click on any of the links which appear in the e-mail, a spokesman said.

The bank is working with internet security experts to shut down the fraudulent website and stop the scam emails. However, despite success in shutting down sites, fraudsters can quickly set up new bogus sites, commonly in foreign countries.

Recipients of a suspected fraudulent email can forward it to emailfraud@boh.com. In the event a recipient mistakenly provided personal information, he or she should immediately contact Bank of Hawaii at 888-643-3888, where staff will assist them with protecting their finances.